Well cap structure



Aug. 28, 1956 .1. z. KABAKOFF WELL CAP STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 17, 1954 WELL CAP STRUCTURE Joseph Z. Kabakoff, La Grange, iii. Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,340

2 Claims. (Ci. lea-as This invention relates generally to well cap structures and more particularly, is directed to a sealing head or cap for use especially in connection with fresh water wells.

In communities not served by water mains from a central source, it is common to dig wells and pump the water through the use of suitable equipment to the household. At the present time the practice is to sink a casing below the water table, support a submerged motor and pump in the water in the casing, and have the water forced up through a small diameter concentric inner conduit or drop pipe. The top or cap of the well is below the ground surface, and a vent tube connects with the interior of the casing to prevent the pump from drawing a vacuum above the water seeping into the bottom of the casing. Electrical wires and cables extend down to the motor operating the pump, on the interior of the casing, and emerge at the cap from whence they are connected to suitable control apparatus in the household. For completely automatic maintenance of water level, motor protection, etc., the number of wires or cables emerging at the cap may be several, the minimum being three.

Considerable difiiculty has heretofore been experienced with economical caps to keep the top of the well sealed from entry of dirt, surface water and the like. The weakest point has been the physical connection between the wires or cables and the well cap.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a well cap which will include novel means for sealing the cap while having the wires or cables connected with the submerged motor coming through the said cap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel resilient gasket or sealing disc which is intended to be sandwiched between metal Washers or discs to provide the said sealing of the well.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a novel well cap structure which includes a rubber or other resilient material gasket having an upwardly extending tapered protrusion adapted to be easily sealed to wires and cables extending therethrough.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a novel well cap having the gasket described immediately above in which the metal plates securing the gasket therebetween are of novel construction to accommodate and cooperate with the said gasket.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds, in connection with which a preferred embodiment has been shown in the accompanying drawings and more particularly described in the specification. It is contemplated that the skilled artisan may vary minor details in the construction, arrangement, proportion and size of the various parts of the invention without departing from the scope or spirit thereof as defined in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings wherein the same characters of reference have been employed to designate equivalent or identical parts throughout the several figures thereof:

2,760,579 Patented Aug. 28, 1956 Fig. 1 is a semi-diagrammatic view of a well installation having the invention associated therewith, the same being shown principally in section, and portions of the illustration being shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through the top of the well along the line 22, and looking down upon the well cap to illustrate the arrangement of the same, the scale being somewhat larger than that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the rubber or resilient material grommet or gasket of the invention, same being shown disassociated from the remainder of the well cap structure, on a larger scale than the illustration of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the member of Fig. 3 taken along the diameter 4-4.

Fig. 5 is a greatly enlarged sectional view through the assembled and installed well cap structure taken generally along the diameter.

The well cap structure is designated 15 and as will be seen in Fig. 1 same is mounted on the top of a well casing 16 which is sunk in the earth 18. The casing is provided with means at its bottom end (not illustrated) to permit water 19 from the water table to seep into the casing to the level 26 of the water table. Thus there is a sump of water in the bottom of the casing. Concentric with the casing is a smaller diameter conduit or drop pipe 22 which connects with a pump and submerged motor 24 at its bottom end and extends through the well cap 15 at its upper end, from whence it is led to the place of use by suitable connecting conduit 26.

It will be seen that the cap 15 is below the level of the surface 28 and that the air space 30 above the water level 2t) is vented by a vent pipe 32 for equalizing the pressure within and without the casing.

The problems referred to in the objects of the invention hereinabove, arise because the electrical portion of the motor and pump 24 must be energized through wires or cables 34 which connect with the motor, extend up the inside of the casing 16, and emerge through the cap to be connected to a power source, switches, controls, etc. These wires must be sealed at the cap 15 to prevent contamination of the well by seepage of surface water, entrance of dirt, dust, mud, etc.

I provide a well cap structure 15 which comprises a top metal disc 40 of rugged formation, such as for example cast iron. Where the casing 16 is a four inch tube, the disc is approximately one inch in thickness. There is a flanged lip 42 which forms a shoulder resting on the top of the casing 16. There is a bottom metal disc 4-4 which is disposed entirely within the casing when the cap structure is assembled and hence it is of the same diameter as the body portion 46 of the top disc 40 exclusive of the lip 42. Between the two disc members 40 and 44 there is sandwiched a gasket member 48 of disc formation of rubber, neoprene, or other resilient deformable material. This is a rather thick member, intended to be considerably compressed and deformed, as will be described.

Openings are provided in all three of the members 40, 44 and 48 which are aligned for specific purposes, in

addition to a particular series of aligned openings whichwill be treated separately hereinafter.

Referring to the conventional and known structures first, the general combination of the two metal members with the sandwiched rubber compression gasket is in wide spread use. The members each have a central opening for the water efliux conduit, the aligned openings being designated 50, 51, and 52. Each member.

has a vent opening, the aligned openings being designated 55, 56, and 57. Each member also has several aligned bolt holes, through which extend bolts 60 seen in Figs. 2 and 5. These openings in the metal disc members will not be designated, since same are obvious. The open- 3 ings in the bottom disc 44 are preferably threaded to accommodate the threaded ends of the bolts and to eliminate the need for nuts. In the rubber gasket or compression member 48 the bolt openings are designated 62.

In the known structures, the three discs 40, 44 and 48 can be either split or whole, i. e., they may be made each in the form of semi-circular halves or integral. Likewise, this structure may vary in the invention, herein, except that it is preferred that the compression member 48 be made integrally formed. It is common to assemble the cap and then tighten the bolts 60 while the structure is disposed in the top of the casing. As the bolts are tightened, the compression member 48 commences to be squeezed into the interstices between the parts. Bulges such as shown at 65 seal the conduit 22, and similar bulges at 67 seal the entire cap into the casing. Very often, a short length of conduit is provided either in the opening 55 or 57, and extending past the rubber compression member to prevent the resilient extrusion of rubber completely from closing off the opening 56.

In carrying out the invention, the rubber compression member 48 is formed with a hollow conical extension or sheath 69 on its upper face the length of which is substantially greater than the thickness of the top disc 40. In one structure, where the top disc was one inch thick, the conical protrusion extended two inches above the surface of the rubber gasket or compression member 48, and hence one inch above the upper disc 40. The interior of the conical protrusion 69 is formed as an elongate passageway 71, approximately the proper diameter to accommodate the wires or cables 34 of the installation, and preferably tapered with the lesser diameter at the upper end. The wires 34 may fit rather snugly in the passageway 71 since the thin walls thereof will allow for a substantial stretching if necessary in pulling the wires and cables through.

In order to accommodate the conical protrusion or sheath, the top disc member 40 is provided with a tapered opening 73 properly aligned with the protrusion, and designed to fit the exterior thereof snugly when the rubber compression member 48 is not compressed. The lower disc 44 has a conventional opening 75 aligned with the opening 71. a

The device is assembled as in the case of conventional 4 structures, but it will be obvious that as the member 48 is compressed, the conical protrusion or sheath 69 will tend to be extruded upwardly and form an excellent seal between itself and the top disc member 40. This is indicated by the exaggerated bulge shown at 77. Its interior passageway 71 will considerably decrease in diameter, seizing the wires or cables 34 and becoming tightly compressed thereabout, as indicated at '79.

Now, with the well cap structure in this condition,

the conical protrusion is securely enwrapped with water impervious tape as shown at 81. Many commercially available tapes can be used, such as plastic, rubberized, etc. The sheath gives an excellent base upon which to lay the tape, and through careful and tight wrapping, a perfect seal can be obtained even by the unskilled. Furthermore, since the wrapped juncture is at the outer end of the protrusion 69, bending or flexing of the wires 34 is easily accommodated by the body of the protrusion, without in any way straining the joint.

The structure as described is additionally advantageous since it eliminates any need for making electrical connections at the cap, it eliminates the need for costly conduits and unions, it is highly economical and easy to install. Further, it is simple to disassemble for inspection or servicing of the well, and readily replaced with great economy. It enables the wires within the casing to be firmly supported without the need of additional tension members.

ing the same has been described sufiiciently to enable same to be understood and practiced by the skilled artisan. It is desired to be limited in the scope of the invention only as set forth in the appended claims.

' What is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A well capping device for sealing the upper end of a well casing while permitting electrical leads to be extended through the device and vertically suspended in the well casing comprising, a resilient, circular gasket member, a heavy upper and lower metal plate of circular configuration, having the gasket member compressed therebetween, fastening means extended through the gasket member and plates holding same in a tight assembly, said gasket being formed of a hard, rubber material capable of resisting extrusion thereof by reason of said compression, aligned openings in said plates and gasket member for receiving the leads therethrough, said gasket having an upstanding, hollow conical extension integral with its surface contiguous the upper plate and communicating with the opening through the gasket through the lower end of the extension, said extension having thin, deformable rubber walls and the passageway through said extension being tapered with the lesser dimensions at the top end thereof, the opening through the upper plate likewise being tapered to accommodate the extension therethrough, the length of the extension being substantially greater than the thickness of said upper plate, said gasket being planar except for said extension, said plates and gasket being so assembled with the gasket compressed so that said thin walls are inwardly deformed tightly to clamp around said leads in the vicinity of the top end of the opening through the upper plate and support said leads in said vertical suspension thereof in the casing when the device is installed.

2. In a well capping device for sealing the upper open end of a well casing while allowing electrical leads to be extended therethrough in vertical suspension in the easing, said device including a pair of heavy, circular metal plates each having a plurality of. passageways therethrough aligned one with the other and an opening in aligned relation for accommodating said leads therethrough, and fastening means for drawing one plate to-.

ward the other into a tight assembly; the herein invention which comprises, a circular, 'hard rubber gasket of substantial thickness capable of being sandwiched between said plates and compressed by said plates without extruding through said passageways, said gasket being substantially planar and having an opening and passage ways therethrough adapted to be aligned with the opening and passageways respectively in each of said plates, said gasket having a thin-Walled rubber sheath integral with the upper surface thereof and upstanding from said face a distance substantially greater than the thickness of the upper plate; and having a tapered bore therethrough whose lesser dimension is at the upper end thereof, said sheath being conical and said upper plate having the opening thereof of complemental conical configuration, said gasket capable of installation in said assembly with the thin walls of the sheath inwardly crimped intermediate the ends of the sheath tightly to clamp around the leads extended through the bore so as to rigidly support said leads in their vertical suspension in the well casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,253,092 Pranger Aug. 19, 1941 2,280,087 Hollander et al. Apr. 21, 1942 2,700,140 Phillips Jan. 18, 1955 

